France is hoping to develop its kiteboarding team prior to the discipline making its debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with four female athletes earmarked as potential Olympians training together.
Kiteboarding was approved as one of 10 sailing events on the Olympic programme for Paris 2024 back in 2018.
Broadcaster France 3 reported that Alexia Fancelli, Poema Newland, Mathilde Garandeau and Héloïse Pégourié have been identified as possible members of France’s women’s team for the Games.
The quartet are training at La Grande-Motte, near Montpellier.
Fancelli is the more experienced of the quartet, with the 27-year-old having secured medals at a series of major events.
This includes winning bronze at the 2018 World Championships.
Newland was among France’s representatives at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympics, where she competed in the Twin Tip Racing category.
Newland shared the silver medal in the event with Spain’s Nina Font, with the duo finishing behind Italy’s Sofia Tomasoni.
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Teenagers Garandeau and Pégourié are also part of the training squad, as France aims to prepare for competition at Paris 2024.
One of the athletes is expected to be selected for Paris 2024, where they will join a male competitor in the mixed team event.
“We have really good profiles, like for example Alexia, who is leader on the European circuit and third at the world championships,” coach Antoine Weiss told France 3.
“And we also have four boys who are in the top six in the world.”
Kiteboarding consists of an athlete riding a board across the water which is harnessed to a hand-controlled and wind-powered kite.
It is billed as blending elements and characteristics of wakeboarding, surfing, windsurfing, snowboarding, paragliding and skateboarding.
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